Stock markets decline in early trade amid weak global trends, relentless foreign fund outflows

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Wednesday, tracking weak global market trends and relentless foreign fund outflows.

Caution also prevailed in the equity market ahead of the GST Council meeting beginning Wednesday.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 153.28 points to 80,004.60 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 46.4 points to 24,533.20.

From the Sensex firms, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank and Trent were among the laggards.

However, Tata Steel, Bharat Electronics, Eternal, ITC and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi traded in positive territory while Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng quoted lower.

US markets ended lower on Tuesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,159.48 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

The GST Council is meeting in New Delhi for two days to discuss the proposed pruning of rates.

"All eyes are on the two-day GST Council meeting beginning today. With global cues mixed and domestic policy in focus, Indian markets may see stock-specific action, especially in FMCG, consumer discretionary, and sin-tax-linked sectors like cigarettes," Hariprasad K, Research Analyst and Founder - Livelong Wealth, said.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.39 per cent to USD 68.87 a barrel.

On Tuesday, the Sensex declined 206.61 points or 0.26 per cent to settle at 80,157.88. The Nifty dipped 45.45 points or 0.18 per cent to 24,579.60.